The European Commission is to "prepare
the ground" for an EU military research programme by launching
a 'Preparatory Action' that will "illustrate the value added
of an EU contribution in new research" and complement research
being undertaken under the Horizon 2020 programme.

In a Communication published at the end
of June, the Commission suggested that the details of a Preparatory
Action (PA) on military research may be established by "an
independent advisory body made up of top level decision-makers
and experts" - what it refers to as a 'Group of Personalities'.
[1]

The June Communication - an 'Implementation
Roadmap' - is a follow-up to a paper published in July last year,
'Towards a more competitive and efficient defence and security
sector'. [2]

The proposal to launch a PA already has
approval at the highest level, with the European Council backing
the idea in its conclusions of December 2013. [3]

The aim is to "prepare the ground
for a possible CSDP-related [Common Security and Defence Policy]
research theme which could be funded under the next multi-annual
financial framework," which will run from 2021 onwards.

"While this cannot substitute for
national investment in defence R&D [research and development],"
says the Communication, "it should promote synergies with
national research efforts and encourage industrial cooperation."

This will come on top of existing efforts
by the EU to try and maximise "civil-military synergies"
in research under the Horizon 2020 programme, despite an explicit
provision in the Horizon 2020 legislation that projects "shall
have an exclusive focus on civil applications." [4]

This emphasis on "dual-use" technologies
was made clear by Commission officials as they launched the Horizon
2020 security research programme at Milipol 2013, an event described
by Privacy International researcher Edin Omanovic as "one
of the world's foremost trade shows for law enforcement agencies
showcasing the latest tools in state security and internal repression."
[5]

Chief Executive of the European Defence
Agency (EDA), Claude-France Arnold, told the audience that the
lines between security and defence are "increasingly blurred
but the challenges nonetheless is to find the right synergies."
[6] A draft version of a speech given by Philippe Brunet, head
of the Commission Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry,
said the EU required:

"[N]ovel technologies and capabilities,
but also a new approach on security matters in general. It has
to be clear to all of us that these ambitious goals can only
be achieved if the civilian and military worlds work together
hand in hand. Long lasting peace building can only be achieved
if we make full use of all our capacities." [7]

A presentation on the Commission's proposed
Preparatory Action, produced by the French Ministry of Defence,
quotes a European Defence Agency (EDA) document:

"EDA and the Commission will address
the modalities of the CSDP-related preparatory action (functioning,
timelines, content), as well as the complementarity with EDA
activities, in close consultation with the Member States." [8]

The EDA quote suggests that the PA could
begin in 2016, but a Commission official told Statewatch
that "we know we cannot start before 2018." Under EU
rules the longest the PA can last is three years, and it needs
to be timed so that it ends as the next budgeting period ("Multiannual
Financial Framework", in the EU terminology) begins.

While the French Defence Ministry document
suggests that it will have a budget in the region of 50
million to 100 million, the Commission official Statewatch
spoke with said the budget will be "in the area of 50
million not more." For the time being, the Commission
is looking at "preparatory actions to the preparatory action".

A new "Group of Dr Strangeloves"?

There are clear similarities between these
proposals and the development of the EU's security research programme.
That also began with the Commission convening a Group of Personalities
(GoP), referred to at the time as a "Group of Dr Strangeloves"
by Statewatch Editor, Tony Bunyan. [9]

According to the Commission, the security
research programme funds projects that find ways to "protect
our citizens, society and economy as well as our infrastructures
and services, our prosperity, political stability and wellbeing,"
[10] primarily through the development of new technologies. It
is also supposed to foster the development of a European 'homeland
security' industry, an area in which many traditionally arms-producing
companies have an interest.

The security research programme has its
origins in a February 2004 Commission Communication. This document
reproduced recommendations from a report by the GoP and announced
that the Commission "had already established" - prior
to the publication of the report - "a 65 million euro budget
line for 'Preparatory Action for Security Research' (2004-06)".
[11]

Security research was then formally integrated
into the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (2007-13), from which
it received 1.4 billion; it now has a budget of 1.8
billion from the Horizon 2020 programme (2014-2020). It is formally
known as "the Secure Societies Challenge" and has been
described by Commission official Philippe Brunet as "an
integral part of the European research community". [12]

There are also parallels with the Commission's
plans to ease drones into domestic airspace over the next 15
years. In October 2013, on the Commission's whim, a "politically-driven"
budget of 70 million was added to legislation aimed at
modernising Europe's air traffic management systems. The money
is to be used to ensure that the integration of drones into civil
airspace is taken into account. [13]

Corporate interests

The Commission's June paper proposes setting
up a GoP "made up of top-level decision makers and experts
of around 20 high level representatives from Member States, the
European Parliament, the industry and academia." The precise
balance of the group remains to be seen.

The security research programme has been
heavily criticised for being dominated by industry.

Recent research for the European Parliament
argued that the security research programme "puts research
at the service of industry rather than society," [14] and
the Statewatch/Transnational Institute report 'Neoconopticon'
argued that the design of the programme was "outsourced
to the very corporations [with] the most to gain from its implementation."
[15]

The Secure Societies Advisory Group, which
provides advice to the Commission on the design of the current
Secure Societies work programme, is heavily dominated by corporate
interests. Alongside lobby groups AeroSpace and Defence (ASD),
the European Organisation for Security and the Eurotech Security
Research Group, many of the individual participants are closely
linked to industry.

A list of the participants at an EU 'High
Level Conference on the Future of the European defence sector',
held in Brussels in March this year, gives an indication of the
organisations and individuals interested in the Commission's
plans for the military and security industries. [16]

Other proposals

The Commission is also planning a whole
host of other initiatives.

By the end of this year representatives
of government and industry will find ways to increase arms exports
through a "forum" that will examine "how to support
the European defence industry on third markets".

In the first half of 2015 the Commission
will publish an assessment of options for arms exports identified
in an April Communication, [17] which will be "supported
by an external study and include a targeted public consultation."

In the search for civil-military "synergies",
the Commission is to publish guidance for regional authorities
and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on how to use European
Structural and Investment Funds - the 140 billion European
Regional Development fund and the 74 billion European Social
Fund - to support dual-use projects.

Under the banner of "[making] use
of EU instruments originally conceived for civil industries",
there will be a push to encourage the use of "Sector Skills
Alliances" and "Knowledge Alliances" through a:

"[C]ommunication campaign on EU
funding of skill-related initiatives in co-operation with
the EDA and relevant bodies including the AeroSpace and Defence
Industries Association of European (ASD) and the European trade
union IndustriAll."

The Communication also says that:

"[T]he Commission will undertake,
with the High Representative [Catherine Ashton] and EDA, a joint
assessment of dual-use capability needs for EU security and defence
policies "

The focus will be on topics highlighted
by the December 2013 European Council - drones, satellite communications
and cyber-security.

The Commission will also offer advice to
the arms industry on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources;
putting together a roadmap on "a comprehensive EU-wide Security
of Supply regime"; and an analysis of "raw materials
that are critical for the defence sector".

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